Final Project

Silent No More.

Due to the struggle i'm having uploading this to youtube, my gmail created a link so i could view it off of my email . Please click the link labeled "Silent No More." to watch our final project.

Project In Progress

My group spent our time going over the stories for the "draw my life" project. We practiced drawing our stories and talked over how were going to record the footage and when we're going to do the VoiceOver's for the drawing segments. We cleared out any confusion and almost executed a schedule of when we will meet up and  record the project. It was a very productive day. 

Best Of Am Lit.

I feel like there are a lot of things i did really well throughout the year, but as always i feel like i could have done so much better and tackled every assignment, test and essay in different ways. Though i do not regret any road i have chosen to take for this course so far, i do know that i am always open for improvement and for that reason i have nothing to list for what I've done best, because i am aware that everything i have done and can do as far in life in general can always be improved.

Project Proposal

Thanks to Danny George's help, My group managed to stumble across a project labeled: "Draw My Life." It's a project where each member in the group literally draws out their past and present life on a white board and explains the events that took place.

Here's An Example.

My Brag Sheet.

Academics/ Awards:
* Honor Roll 7th-8th Grade
*Golden Warrior 9th-11th Grade
*3.6 weighted GPA

\Volunteer:
*Youth Teacher
*Feeding the homeless
*Church Pianist/Drummer/ Dancer 
*Childrens' praise dance/ flagging teacher

Skills:
*Great with children
*Quick learner
*Communication skills
*Team Player
*Reliable 
*Confident
*Hardworking

Travel:
*DC, Washington 
*Atlanta, Georgia
*South Carolina

Gonzo

First thought that came to my mind when I begun to read this was how strange the font was, some of the letters were pushed together and the font made it a small struggle to process it all.

The second thing i noticed was, this story makes the bare minimum of sense, disorganized and no solid foundation for a theme, these things made it difficult to even want to continue the story.

There will be some quotes i read that i won't be posting due to the fact that half of it is full of nothing but vulgar language and the ones i tend to comment on don't seem to have a censored word in the entire sentence.

"Say," he said, "you look like you might be in the horse business. . . am i right?"
Out of all the things. . he felt that he was in the horse business? Okay. . .

He laughed, "Well damn What're you gonna take pictures of- -nekkid horses?"
Either this character is lacking excessive amounts of grammar or he is beyond belligerent.

"I almost crushed a Volkswagen full of nuns when I  swerved to catch the right exit."
Hmm. . .

Johnny Cyberpunk

Okay so this wasn't exactly a genre I was feeling too much due to the fact that as much as i love technology i can't stand it at the same time. It's so useful yet it can be so stupid at the same time. So "Cyberpunk" definitely isn't a genre I'm about to go dropping $5 for on amazon.

This story was about a man named Johnny who has important information stored into his head that he's unable to retrieve. The man who has placed this information in his head (Ralfi) basically want's Johnny dead which i found rather strange due to the fact he's the only one able to retrieve it. . . anyways ! Instead of making things simple Ralfi hires Yazuka assassins to kill Johnny and extract the information placed in his heads with devices called squids, the story didn't go into detail but I'm assuming the squids are used to extract information. After that it all seemed EXTREMELY long so i started to skim, due to my superb skimming skills i can tell you that Johnny was rescued by a woman named Molly and from what i saw she was made out of blades? Then the story gets a kinda violent after Molly saved Johnny, mainly due to the fact that after she saves him and takes custody of Ralfi the assassins he hired end up cutting him into pieces , after Johnny realized how much danger he's in he asks Molly to get him a squid so he can completely remove the implanted information out of head. Later on into my skimming i stumbled across the word heroine ? That threw me off a bit but i managed to see that in the end The assasins cut their hands off and the "Lo Tek" (I have no idea who that is guys) is killed. Johnny becomes the new Lo Tek and works on getting his memories back.

I know that was a terrible description, but in my defense my doctor diagnosed me with Junior Itis and it's very severe. The daily dose of learning he's prescribed has yet to cease any of the symptoms so I'm hoping for a full recovery over the summer ! Thank you for understanding (:

Postmodern who?

Sorry guys! I realized i never posted my groups project video . Shelbi Nunes, Danny George and i created a hacked/remixed version to the movie trailer "The Purge."  Please enjoy (:

My Slaughterhouse.

There are many ways and forms of postmodernism, and even more examples of postmodernism that can be given. Postmodernism is the act of denying the existence of lifes principals and breaking it's fourth wall. It's pretty much the same thing as hacking but with more opportunities and options. Because there are really no "Do's" or "Don'ts" in postmodernism, Slaughterhouse-Five is a great example of postmodernism and what it's really about.

Vonnegut's novel is a great example of postmodernism because it has no limits. The book is chock full of unexpected events and unthinkable surprises that fill the readers head with limitless questions. Slaughterhouse-Five is consistently breaking the fourth wall of traditional literature throughout the entire novel. Most authors make an effort to have a set structure and order laid out for their novels before they're published but Vonnegut strays away from the normal novel structure and decides to chop and screw or "hack" the chronological order of traditional novels and change it into something that show's the readers who he really is. At that note, that brings up another important key to executing postmodernism, self expression.

Self expression is one of the main elements to postmodernism, theres really no point in denying the existence of principals if you're not denying your own principals. Postmodernism isn't breaking the rules of others, it's breaking your own, thats why Vonnegut's novel is so unique. He achieved breaking the walls through his own standards and because of that the walls will never be broken in that same way again. The beauty of Postmodernism is that it's never the same. Due to the fact that self expression is one of the main ingredients needed to stew up a good pot of post modernism strew, every expression of it is different. 

The last thing needed to succeed in creating a nice batch of postmodernism is to break away from the "do's" and "don'ts". There really are no limits to postmodernism, if Vonnegut were to have stayed in the few limits traditional literature had to offer when he was publishing the book it would be similar to any other book. The
"do's" and "don'ts" are restrictions to full self expression, when one is told what they can and cannot do they can only allow themselves to think and create within the small boundaries provided. Breaking away from what society does and does not approve of opens endless possibilities onto the creativity table, it's what's needed for complete self-expression. 

Vonnegut is Postmodernism, and a great inspiration to other postmodernist. His works are not only inspiring but eye opening, the postmodernism used in Slaughterhouse-five was so compelling that it was able to leave even some of the most serious readers in awe. Vonnegut concocted the perfect recipe to postmodernism, and it will continued to be passed down for many generations to come.  

SCHLACHTOF VIER, FÜNF UND SECHS.

Chapter 4:
On the night of Billys daughters wedding night, Billy can't sleep because he is aware he is going to be abducted again by the Tralfalmadorians. He asks why he's being abducted and the aliens explain their is no reasoning why.( This scene reminds me of the movie Dark Skies, it was a movie about Aliens called the greys abducting random humans for no reason. Great movie, highly recommend it by the way.) Billy ends up time traveling back to the war then time travels again back to his childhood.

Chapter 5:
In this chapter, Billy goes back to his childhood again but later ends up back in the war where he is welcomed by some British soldiers. After they realize how pathetic Billy's war group is he time travels to a mental hospital then back to Tralfalmadore. Billy also travels to his wedding night and back to the war where he encounters Kurt Vonnegut. (The rest of the chapter is a little blurry and awkward from then on . .)

Chapter 6:
This chapter is still in the progress of being understood. . .

SCHLACHTOF DREI & SCHLACHTOF VEIR

"The dog, who had sounded so ferocious in the inter distances, was a female German shepherd. She was shivering. Her tail was between her legs."

-The dog named princess appeared to be strong and frightening but was kind of a scaredy cat when it came to the war. Her names Princess, the hell did you expect ?


"And Weary, bug-eyed with terror, was being disarmed."

-Yeah Karmas a bitch ain't it? You can't go around acting like a pompous asshole then expect life to flow the way you want it.

"God grant me the serenity to accept the things i cannot change, courage to change the things i can, and wisdom always to tell the difference."

-This scripture has helped me deal with a lot of people in the 805, one of my favorites and very pleasant to run into in the book.

"Bill crashed into Weary;s shoulder, and Weary cried out sobbingly. "Walk Right! Walk Right!"

-Weary all i gotta say is MAN UP! MAN UP! You're representing your country in the war and so far the only thing i can remember about you is that you're overweight and you like to bully people. Crying isn't adding good things to my perception of you.

.

"Billy stood there politely giving the marksman another chance."

-So he shot at you and you're giving him another chance . .? Ok. . moving on.

"He had been unpopular because he was stupid  and fat and mean, and smelled like bacon no matter how much he washed."

-That's a rather unfortunate . . sad thing is today's generation is obsessed with bacon. This Ronald Weary kid
would be the hottest kid on the block in today's world.

"It made Weary sick to be ditched. When Weary was ditched, he would find somebody who was even more unpopular than himself, and he would horse around with that person for a while, pretending to be friendly. And then he would find some pretext for beating the shit out of him."

-Woah, woah, woah ! I had a little sympathy for this guy before but he sounds like a straight up douchebag.

"It was a crazy, sexy, murderous relationship Weary entered into with people he eventually beat up."

-I'm too in shock that he had the audacity to say he had a sexy relationship with someone he supposedly "beat the shit" out of.

"Bullet proof bible,"

-Bullet proof . . . what?

"He had a prophylactic kit containing two tough condoms "For the Prevention of Disease Only!"

-Weren't MEN the only one's allowed to fight in the war back then? Why in the blue hell do you have condoms?

"He was a little boy taking a shower with his hairy father ar Ilium Y.M.C.A."

-That was a very disturbing image i wish i could unsee.

This is ABSURD.!!!

Like i always do before i have inappropriate comments on my blog posts, i'm apologizing ahead of time. My grammar and language used isn't very sophisticated or appropriate but Preston asked for absurd, so he's getting absurd.

Absurd: Wildly unreasonable, illogical or inappropriate .
Or as i like to say, f**kin ridiculous.

The thing i find absurd in life was actually inspired by school this week.
What did we do you may ask? We had CST's otherwise known as star testing. Those test have to be the most ABSURD way of defining a student to ever hit the planet. The test is pretty much filled with a bunch of pointless crap about 90 % of us will never use past high school and the state feels like it's a good way to understand the students education. But look at the facts California ! You put students in a small classroom for two to three hours and test them on questions from way back when and still have the audacity to feel the need to word the test questions in difficult ways that are supposedly supposed to "make us think". Do you guys really think that's the way to understand how smart a student is? Cramming them in a room with 5 subjects we're all forced to take? Over a third of the students BS their way through them and don't even read the questions anyways! You're not only wasting our time but you're also fooling yourselves. If we need standardized testing so much then why don't they give the CST to all working men and women in California every year and determine if that means they're qualified to do their jobs? News flash!, more than a third of them wouldn't pass it.! You claim we need testing to be better leaders of the world yet you lack the knowledge of what we test in yourselves? How bout you roll to Obama's house and ask him to find the sum of an infinite geometric series and determine whether or not he's smart enough to run the country? I'm sorry but standardized testing AIN'T SH*T.!  Stop being hypocrites, you guys don't know half the crap  your dishing out and you're trying to categorize teenagers based on it. That my friends is ABSURD. Standardized testing never has made sense and never will make sense and quite frankly, i find it ab to the frikken surd to think it's ok to judge us all on it.

Gatsby Essay

I'm not entirely sure if we were expected to just simply answer the questions of the Gatsby Essay prompt or if we were to respond to it. I chose a response in an essay format and i feel as if i executed the questions asked in the prompt correctly. Please feel free to comment any remarks or suggestions, i welcome other's insight and i feed off of ways to improve.

Thank You for your time,
~Jasmine D. Beebe

Prompt: 

In a novel or play, a confidant (male) or a confidante (female) is a character, often a friend or relative of the hero or heroine, whose role is to be present when the hero or heroine needs a sympathetic listener to confide in. Frequently the result is, as Henry James remarked, that the confidant or confidante can be as much “the reader’s friend as the protagonist’s.” However, the author sometimes uses this character for other purposes as well.

What are the various ways Nick Carraway functions in The Great Gatsby?  How does he help give us the tour through Gatsby's world?  How does he help us get to know Jay Gatsby?  How does his presence change the course of the plot, the interactions between other characters, and/or the reader's understanding of the tone and theme of the novel?  What else (if anything) do you think Carraway's character accomplishes?  How would the book be different if the narration was provided by an anonymous, omniscient voice?

Essay:

A confidant is a character whose role is to be present in when the hero or heroine needs a sympathetic listener to confide in. In the novel The Great Gatsby, Nick Carraway is considered to the not only one of the main characters in the novel, but he also plays an important role as Gatsby’s confidant. Throughout the novel Fitzgerald has many different situations and conflicts in which Gatsby is involved in that often result in Gatsby turning to Nick to confide his problems in.  Due to this character set up, Nick plays a very valuable role in Gatsby’s character development in the novel.

As stated earlier, there are many situations in which Nick is the one Gatsby turns to in his time of need. Setting up a date with Nick’s cousin Daisy was Gatsby’s first step into becoming close to Nick. Though at first it appears as only a favor, before meeting Daisy Gatsby experiences a nervous breakdown about seeing Daisy.  Nick handles Gatsby’s problems very calmly regardless of the raging mental comments about Mr. Gatsby surging through his mind when these problems arise.  This aspect benefits the reader in the sense that it also informs them of Mr. Carraway’s perspective on Mr. Gatsby. Having a character who is involved with Mr. Gatsby instead of a regular Narrator gives a feel of understanding to the thoughts formed by Nick.  These thoughts not only bring the readers closer to the narrator but give the readers a different outlook on the characters that the narrator is thinking about, in some cases it can make the reader form a type of bond with the narrator that makes the story more pleasant.   “The modesty of the demand shook me. He had waited five years and bought a mansion where he dispensed starlight to casual moths so that he could “come over” some afternoon to a stranger’s garden.” This quote is one of the thought’s Nick was thinking when Jordan Baker mentioned Gatsby’s request. Though it may not appear as an important thought, it puts Gatsby’s request into perspective. Some readers may not have considered Gatsby’s request rather odd before reading this quote. It emphasizes Nick’s opinion and also questions the readers on who Gatsby really is. This could be considered a helpful asset in the terms of figuring out who Gatsby is and what he’s about.

                Gatsby is far from the only one to confide in Nick Carraway, though these characters may not be considered hero’s in the eyes of some readers, their characters are very essential to the novel. Daisy, Jordan and even Tom all have their moments of confessions to Nick. Referencing back to first chapter Nick states how he was “unjustly accused of being a politician, because I was privy to the grief’s of wild, unknown men. Most of the confidences were unsought-.” Fitzgerald clearly states Nick’s position as the confidant to a majority of characters within the first few sentences of the beginning of the novel. It’s as If he was writing an essay, he stated his thesis and backed it up with the confidences of Gatsby, Daisy, Tom and Jordan into Nick’s character.  Through these confessions, different points of view on each main character were practically handed to the readers of The Great Gatsby.  With so many different ways to view each character every reader was given the opportunity to pick and choose their outlooks on each character without any of their personalities already being completely provided. Bits and pieces of each character were dished throughout the novel and through the eyes of Nick Carraway, readers were given the glue to piece each character together based on what the facts and Nick’s opinions they had read about throughout the story.

Nick’s importance in the story is rather significant to the reader, due to the fact that he has one on one interaction with the characters to the novel; his opinions can be considered more valuable compared to the typical narrator.  Nick’s character not only provides a confidant to the characters in the story but it also gives some level of a confidant to the reader. Due to his lack of judgment readers may form a connection to Nick’s character that brings a certain realistic feel to the story. Opinions have a tendency to bring a more realistic feel to stories, it’s like when a acquaintance is discussing a frustrating experience for them, the details help the listener understand but it’s the feelings in the acquaintances that capture and help the listener better understand not only how the teller of the story felt but it also aid’s in giving the listener an opinion and a sense of relation to the topic as well. In the case of The Great Gatsby, Nick the story teller and we as the readers are the ones listening to his story.  Nick’s involvement and emotion in the novel is what pulls readers in. As a result, his feelings and descriptions become the readers as well.

“The Great Gatsby does not proclaim the nobility of the human spirit; it is not politically correct; it does not reveal how to solve the problems of life; it delivers no fashionable or comforting messages. It is just a masterpiece. The best reason to read literature is for pleasure.” (Matthew J. Bruccoli). The pleasure in Gatsby is not sought through the content of quality of the story; it’s the character’s that accompany the readers along the way. That is what makes the Gatsby experience so pleasurable.  

My Gatsby Character.

This character was inspired after i watched the trailer to the newest Gatsby movie and realized Tobey Maquire was in the movie. I enjoyed his quirkiness in the movie spiderman intriguing so i decided I'd make a character whose somewhat obsessed with him. I created this character before reading the blog and realizing she had to be a modern version but the thought of scrapping my work kinda peeved me off so i'm posting the original character too. The second Character i list will be my modern character.

Character Info:

Name: Pamela Dohee
Age: 27
Residence: East Egg
Personality: Raised in a life of luxury  Pamela Dohee has lived a rather lavish life. Her father is known to be one of the richest men in East Egg. Miss. Dohee spends her day meeting wealthy young men on dates her father arranges. Though showered in decadence, Miss. Dohee has no interest in material things. She enjoys nature and the simple things in life and an occasional glass of wine every evening. She's rather shy and has difficulties being as outspoken as her peers expect her to be but don't let this fool you, the quiet ones are always the ones you must watch out for.
Love interest: Nick Carroway.

~
Modern Version:

Due to my lack of following up the blog post because i think im such a know it all, this character was mostly thought of in a last minute sense so please bear with me. I've decided to switch it around and make it a male instead of a female due to the fact that many female of this generation don't appeal to me ( no offense ladies, just being real.) But regarding to what i said earlier, a modern character is very last minute so this short story won't have too much related to Gatsby besides a party theme.
Character Info:

Name: Jarid Pharr
Age: 17
Residence: Southern California/ Los Angeles
Personality:  -

I find it a little difficult to write a story on a last minute character so i'm not really going to "write a story" i'm just going to create and post the synopsis instead.

This story is about a teenager named Jarid Pharr preparing for his sweet 17 birthday party, a few problems arise during the last few preparations needed and he turns to his friends for help. But instead of receiving the help needed they complain and form excuses on why they can't help but they still manage to emphasize how essential it is for him to throw the party. Jarid spends hours trying to find help and correct the problems without any success. He attempts to ask his friends for help again and they still flake on him but this time they manage to threaten their friendship if Jarid fails to fix the problems. Jarid goes through every facebook friend, twitter/tumblr and instagram follower and still has a turn out of no help. He realizes that the party wont bring him closer to his friends but only let his friends eat closer into his wallet and he decides to cancel the party. Realizing that money really can't buy happiness.

And that ladies and gents is my poorly written, ghetto synopsis.

The Last Chapter Of Gatsby

Woah.
I got so into what happened to Gatsby in the last chapter that i actually forgot to take active reading notes while i was reading it, i had so many questions and assumptions running through my head that i was just too impatient to want to set the book down long enough to jot down some notes on what i was thinking. The end chapter was not quite how i expected but i had somewhat of a feeling it would get to the point in which it had gotten to. As you guys know, i tend to let my grammatically correct guard down when im "being myself." on my blog. My thoughts are a bit on the blunt side and my reactions can be a bit on the rash side, so please bear with me as you read my notes.

"I called up Daisy half an hour after we found him, called her instinctively and without hesitation. But she and Tom had gone away early that afternoon, and taken baggage with them."
This gold digger did not just cheat on her husband, kill a woman and straight up one two step her way out of the picture as soon as Gatsby was discovered for her crime. That is trifling as hell.

"Let me known about the funeral etc do not know his family at all."
So i guess Gatsby cut himself off. Damn, you go out like that for a gold digger? That's bold.

"After changing my clothes I went next door and found Mr. Gatz walking up and down excitedly in the hall."
UMM!? Didn't your son just DIE bro? You have no reason to be excited.

"But it was no use. Nobody came."
So all of ya'll can sure turn up for a Gatsby's parties but none of you guys can roll up for his funeral? Trifling.

"The poor son-of-a-bitch," he said."
Was that supposed to be sympathy?

After that i kinda faded out.. but i did enjoy the book! Crazy ending but not unsurprising. Money can buy you all the material things in the world, but love, friendship and family have no price.

Ch. 6 Active Reading Notes.

"He had been coasting along all too hospitable shores for five years when he turned up as James Gatz's destiny in Little Girls Bay."
Little Girls Bay? Please please please tell me this isn't a island where you pick up "little girls."

"I hadn't been there two minutes when somebody brought Tom Buchanan in for a drink. I was startled, naturally, but the really surprising thing was that it hadn't happened before."
Why is Tom and Gatsby's house is Gatsby is trying to swoop ( get with ) Tom's wife?

"If you want to kiss me any time during the evening, Nick, just let me know and I'll be glad to arrange it for you. Just mention my name. Or present a green card. I'm giving out green-"
Aren't Nick and Daisy cousins? Is she joking?

Ch 5 Active Reading Notes

" Gatsby, his hands still in his pockets was reclining against the mantelpiece in a strained counterfeit of perfect ease, even boredom."
Wasn't he just freaking out in the previous paragraph? How is it that he manages to not only compose but also bore himself in such a short frame of time.

"Doe gasoline affect his nose?"
Referring to Daisy's driver. Fitzgerald didn't really specify the relevance of this snippet in the story but it did get me wondering why he added it.

"We haven't met for many years," said Daisy, her voice as matter of fact as it could be.
"Five years next November."
Pardon my slang in this next statement but Gatsby was just straight up creepin' when he said that. Having the date memorized any everything. Kinda obsessive if you ask me.

"They were sitting at either end of the couch looking at each other as if some question had been asked or was in the air, and every vestige of embarrassment was gone.  Daisy's face was smeared with tears and when i came in she jumped and began wiping at it with her handkerchief before a mirror."
Again, apologies for the slang i am about to use. Why in the blue hell is Daisy crying? and what the hell happened when Nick was chillin in the yard?

"Oh, i've been in several things," he corrected himself. "I was in the drug business and then i was in the oil business. But i'm not in either one now."
Sooo, are we talking about some hard core drugs or was he a pharmacist? Because Gatsby's starting to sound a little scandal. . .

I didn't really have to many opinions on this chapter, other than the fact that Daisy is interested in Gatsby because she's a gold digger and Tom's cheating on Daisy with another gold digger, the book hasn't formed too many opinions on my part. I guess i will see if more unfold as i progress deeper into the book.

Reflections.

I got 99 excuses and you probably don't give a damn about one of them.
My essay performance wasn't up to my standards, instead of following the prompt i ended up telling a  terrible story of what happened in the book. Essays have always been a weaker strength in my education and it is a goal for me to improve it. I understand that my writing was far from being up to par but it is because of that reason i am determined to learn and build off of the event instead of dwell and turn away from it.

MAPLAN Scavenger Hunt say whaaa.?

Have you ever gone to class and opened your book for an assignment, and as you're looking for the page you need you stumble across one of those "Turn to page 336 for a secret." ? We all know there isn't going to  be a secret and we all know we're going to end up frustrated at the fact we rummaged through over 15 pages just to get to the end with a dumb little message that normally states: "Idiot, there was no secret! ;) " Then we question why the hell we just wasted 5 minutes of our lives to read a sentence we already knew there was no answer to? Somewhere in each of our brains there's this curiosity tick that drives us to pry into something when we don't fully know the answer. So what if instead of reading paragraphs and essays we replicate that tick? But this time you're not wasting 5-10 minutes to find a dead end, this time you let that tick drive you to the fullest extent until you find out whats the big secret and why it's worth your while and this time you actually learn something in the end. You find knowledge to something you never would have thought to think twice about learning, and you have fun doing it.

Amanda, Danny, Carla, Melissa, Shelby and hopefully Lissette and I hope to pull off a "Blog Scavenger Hunt" for our authors. The layout is still a little rough and we're still brainstorming on how to tie it all together. As i'm thinking about it i feel like we will have certain quotes, facts, links and traces left over our blogs and/or the internet. We may start off with a few quotes, facts, hints and clues on our blogs about the modernist we chose, then we plan to post a link to a YouTube video, poem, website or post a picture that relates to the author on our blogs or one of the members in the group to get the "Who is it?" thought process going. We will then end the post with a link to one of our group members blogs whose modernist has a relation in some way shape or form with the modernist we are doing. The last few words on the posts will be a very strong quote that will give the reader a idea on who the modernist is. As they bounce from blog to blog and search from clue to clue they will end up on a possible video (unconfirmed ) that will end the scavenger hunt and announce who the modernist is. The video should include more quotes and facts and our own opinions on the modernist.

I hope that all made sense, i was rambling quite a bit! But i promise that the deliverance of the project will be more clear and a lot more interesting than a scrambled up paragraph.